Applications in a flexible registration framework

ABSTRACT

A processing device executing an application that is logged in to a user account recognized by a registration service receives information identifying a device that has not been bound to any user account, wherein the application supports a plurality of registration techniques. The processing device identifies a registration technique supported by the device that is to be used for registration of the device. The processing device performs at least one of sending information associated with the registration technique to the device or receiving the information associated with the registration technique. The processing device sends the information associated with the registration technique to the registration service, and then receives a message from the registration service, wherein the message indicates that the information satisfied a criterion of the registration technique and comprises a notification that the device is bound to the user account.

BACKGROUND

Many modern appliances, consumer devices, and other devices includeembedded systems that are configured to perform one or more dedicatedfunctions. However, most embedded systems of such devices do not includenetworking capabilities, role based access control capabilities, remoteinterface capabilities, remote control capabilities, or relatedcapabilities. Designing such functionality into an embedded system,designing application programming interfaces (APIs) for accessing suchfunctionality, designing web services capable of communicating with andcontrolling the embedded system via this added functionality, anddesigning applications for taking advantage of this functionality canconsume considerable resources of the device manufacturer.

Moreover, many devices such as those that include embedded systemsrequire user registration to enable certain features and/or to make thedevices usable. Conventionally, each such device has a singleregistration technique that is coded into that device duringmanufacturing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings showing exampleembodiments of the present application, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting an example network architectureincluding remotely accessible embedded systems;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a flexible registration framework, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram of an example registration process, inaccordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 4A is a flow chart of one embodiment for a method of determining aregistration technique to be used for a device;

FIG. 4B is a flow chart of another embodiment for a method ofdetermining a registration technique to be used for a device;

FIG. 5A is a flow chart of one embodiment for a method of binding adevice to a user account based on an applied registration technique;

FIG. 5B is a flow chart of one embodiment for a method of bindingmultiple devices to different user accounts based on different appliedregistration techniques;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of one embodiment for a method of dynamicallycontrolling the registration technique to be implemented by an embeddedsystem;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of one embodiment for a method of updating theregistration technique to be applied by devices of a particular devicetype;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of one embodiment for a method of performingoperations associated with a registration technique by an application;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of another embodiment for a method of performingoperations associated with a registration technique by an application;

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of yet another embodiment for a method ofperforming operations associated with a registration technique by anapplication;

FIG. 11 is a flow chart of one embodiment for a method of performingoperations associated with a registration technique by an embeddedsystem or other device;

FIG. 12 is a flow chart of another embodiment for a method of performingoperations associated with a registration technique by an embeddedsystem or other device;

FIG. 13 illustrates a block diagram of one embodiment of a computingdevice; and

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of an example device having a remotelyaccessible embedded system.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments are directed to a network-connected device platform (alsoreferred to as an internet-of-things (IoT) cloud platform or simply anIoT platform) having a flexible registration framework that providesflexible control of registration techniques to be used for bindingdevices to user accounts.

There are numerous different registration techniques that may be used toregister devices. Each of these registration techniques providesdifferent tradeoffs in terms of security and convenience to a user.Moreover, each registration technique may rely on one or more underlyingtechnologies to complete device registration. Accordingly, theregistration techniques that may be available for a device may depend onthe capabilities of the device.

Conventionally, a device manufacturer (e.g., an original equipmentmanufacturer (OEM)) weighs the benefits, limitations and requirements ofavailable registration techniques and selects a particular registrationtechnique for their products during product development. The devicemanufacturer then hard codes the single selected registration techniqueinto their products. The device manufacturer may also set up an onlineregistration service that facilitates registration of the devices usingthat single registration technique. Notably, such registration servicesare also coded to support only the single registration technique that isused by all of the manufacturer's products.

Embodiments described herein set forth a registration framework thatincludes a registration service, applications and devices that worktogether to register the devices. The registration framework supportsnumerous different registration techniques, and may register devicesusing any of the supported registration techniques. Each of theapplications and devices also support one or more registrationtechniques. Moreover, at any time additional registration techniques maybe added to any of the applications, devices, or registration service.Thus, the registration framework provides the flexibility to selectdifferent optimal registration techniques to apply depending on who isperforming the registration, the device being registered, an applicationfacilitating the registration, and/or other environmental conditions.

In one embodiment, a registration service receives informationidentifying a first device, a second device to be registered and anapplication running on the first device, wherein the application islogged in to a user account recognized by the registration service. Theregistration service determines a registration technique that issupported by both the application and by the second device, and thensends a message indicating the registration technique to at least one ofthe first device or the second device. The application and the seconddevice may then each perform operations associated with the registrationtechnique to complete registration and bind the second device to theuser account.

In another embodiment, a mobile device (or other computing device)executes an application that supports multiple registration techniquesand that is logged in to a user account recognized by a registrationservice. The application receives information identifying a device thathas not been bound to any user account. The application then identifiesa registration technique supported by the device that is to be used forregistration of the device. In some instances, this determination ismade by querying the registration service. Depending on the identifiedregistration technique, the application may then receive registrationinformation from a user, receive registration information from thedevice, send registration information to the device and/or sendregistration information to the registration service. The registrationservice then determines whether registration is successful and sends anotification to the application and/or the device indicating that theregistration information satisfied a criterion of the registrationtechnique and that the device is bound to the user account.

In another embodiment, a device such as an embedded system establishes aconnection to a local area network (LAN) and then provides data to aregistration service via the connection to the LAN. The device thenreceives from the registration service an instruction to implement aspecified registration technique. Responsive to the instruction, thedevice implements the specified registration technique, wherein theregistration service is to bind the embedded system to a user accountresponsive to satisfaction of a criterion of the specified registrationtechnique. Numerous other embodiments are discussed herein that relateto flexible application of registration techniques to bind devices touser accounts.

Referring now to the figures, FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting anexample network architecture 100 including remotely accessible embeddedsystems 150A-C and computing devices 105, 125 that interact with theembedded systems. The network architecture 100 includes multiple devices135A-C and a computing device 105 executing a remote control application115 that are connected to a local area network (LAN) 165, and furtherincludes multiple wide area network (WAN) accessible services 130connected to a WAN 170. The WAN accessible services 130 may becomponents of an IoT platform that OEMs can leverage to quickly andeasily create new network-connected device products. The IoT platformwill handle authorization and authentication, network connection, deviceregistration, information gathering and analytics, device management,role based access control and more. The registration service 185 of theIoT platform, the remote control application 115 and the embeddedsystems 150A-C together form a flexible registration framework forregistering devices 135A-C. The flexible registration framework enablesOEMs to choose registration techniques for their devices based ondesired security levels, ease of use and/or other considerations. Theflexible registration framework additionally enables the OEMs to easilychange the registration techniques to be used by any of their devices,and to update those devices accordingly. The registration techniques maybe changed dynamically without any change to device side software.

The devices 135A-C are devices with embedded systems 150A-C, and mayinclude, for example, electrical appliances such as refrigerators,ovens, washers, driers, dishwashers, thermostats, alarms, airconditioners, televisions, radios, receivers, amplifiers, and so forth.The devices 135A-C may also include consumer devices such as digitalwatches, music players, game consoles, digital cameras, printers, and soforth. Other examples of devices 135A-C include stationary devices suchas HVAC systems, traffic lights, factory controllers, signs, electronicbillboards, sprinkler systems, and irrigation control systems, as wellas medical devices. Devices 135A-C may also be any other type of devicethat includes an embedded system.

An embedded system 150A-C is a class of computing device that isembedded into another device as one component of the device. The device135A-C typically also includes other hardware, electrical and/ormechanical components that may interface with the embedded system150A-C. Embedded systems 150A-C are typically configured to handle aparticular task or set of tasks, for which the embedded systems 150A-Cmay be optimized. Accordingly, the embedded systems 150A-C may have aminimal cost and size as compared to general computing devices.

The embedded systems 150A-C may each include a communication module (notshown) that enables the embedded system 150A-C (and thus the device135A-C) to connect to a LAN 165 or to a wireless carrier network (e.g.,that is implemented using various data processing equipment,communication towers, etc.). The communication module may be configuredto manage security, manage sessions, manage access control, manage userregistration, manage communications with external devices, and so forth.In one embodiment, the communication module is configured to communicateusing Wi-Fi®. Alternatively, the communication module may be configuredto communicate using Bluetooth®, Zigbee®, Z-wave, wireless universalserial bus (USB)™, Internet Protocol version 6 over Low power WirelessArea Networks (6LowPAN), power line communication (PLC), Ethernet (e.g.,10 Megabyte (Mb), 100 Mb and/or 1 Gigabyte (Gb) Ethernet) or othercommunication protocols. If the communication module is configured tocommunicate with a wireless carrier network, then the communicationmodule may communicate using Global Systems for Mobile Communications(GSM), Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Universal MobileTelecommunications Systems (UMTS), 3GPP Long Term Evaluation (LTE),Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), or any othersecond generation wireless telephone technology (2G), third generationwireless telephone technology (3G), fourth generation wireless telephonetechnology (4G) or other wireless telephone technology. One example ofan embedded system is described in greater detail below with referenceto FIG. 14.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the LAN 165 may include a router, switch,bridge or other network device (not shown) that enables communicationbetween multiple devices connected to the LAN 165. The network devicemay provide wired connections to the LAN using, for example, Ethernetports, universal serial bus (USB) ports and/or Firewire® ports. Thenetwork device may additionally provide wireless connections to the LANusing, for example, a Wi-Fi transceiver.

Some embedded systems 150A-C may not support any of the communicationtypes supported by the network device. For example, device 135A maysupport Zigbee, and device 135B may support Bluetooth. To enable suchdevices to connect to the LAN 165, the LAN 165 may include a gatewaydevice (not shown) connected to the network device via one of theconnection types supported by the network device (e.g., via Ethernet orWi-Fi). The gateway device may additionally support other communicationprotocols such as Zigbee, PLC and/or Bluetooth, and may translatebetween supported communication protocols. Accordingly, some devices mayconnect to the LAN 165 through the gateway device.

The LAN 165 (or wireless carrier) is connected to a wide area network(WAN) 170. The WAN 170 may be a private WAN (e.g., an intranet) or apublic WAN such as the Internet, or may include a combination of aprivate and public network. The LAN 165 may include a router and/ormodem (e.g., a cable modem, a direct serial link (DSL) modem, aWorldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX®) modem, an longterm evolution (LTE®) modem, etc.) that provides a connection to the WAN170.

The WAN 170 may include or connect to a server computing device 125. Theserver computing device 125 may include a physical machine and/or avirtual machine hosted by a physical machine. The physical machine maybe a rackmount server, a desktop computer, or other computing device. Inone embodiment, the server computing device 125 includes a virtualmachine managed and provided by a cloud provider system. Each virtualmachine offered by a cloud service provider may be hosted on a physicalmachine configured as part of a cloud. Such physical machines are oftenlocated in a data center. The cloud provider system and cloud may beprovided as an infrastructure as a service (IaaS) layer. One example ofsuch a cloud is Amazon's® Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2®).

The server computing device 125 hosts one or more WAN accessibleservices 130, which may be a web based service and/or a cloud service(e.g., a web based service hosted in a cloud computing platform). In oneembodiment, the WAN accessible services 130 include a device service175, a user account service 180 and a registration service 185.Alternatively, the functionality of one or more of the device service175, user account service 180 and/or registration service 185 may becombined into a single service or may be divided into multiple services.For example, the functionality of the registration service 185 may beincorporated into the device service 175 in some embodiments.

Device service 175 may maintain a session (e.g., via a continuous orintermittent connection) with one or more of the embedded systems150A-C. Alternatively, the device service 175 may periodically establishsessions with the embedded systems 150A-C. Via a session with anembedded system 150A-C, device service 175 may issue commands to theembedded system and/or receive status updates from the embedded system.The commands may be commands to change a state of one or more parametersof a device controllable by the embedded system. For example, if theembedded system is embedded in a heater or thermostat, then the commandsmay include commands to increase or decrease a temperature. In anotherexample, if the embedded system is embedded in a home automation system,then the commands may include commands to turn on or off lights.

Status updates received from the embedded systems 150A-C may identifyvalues or states of some or all detectable parameters of devices 135A-Cthat the embedded systems are included in. Status updates may alsoinclude fault information, statistical device usage information, tracedata and/or other information. Such values, states and/or otherinformation may change based on direct user interaction with thedevices. Such values, states and/or other information may also changeresponsive to commands sent to the embedded systems 150A-C by the deviceservice 175 and/or by computing device 105. By maintaining orperiodically establishing sessions with the embedded systems 150A-C, thedevice service 175 may maintain up-to-date information on the states ofthe devices 135A-C.

User account service 180 performs authorization and authentication ofapplications. Applications (e.g., remote control application 115) mayprovide identification of a particular user account maintained by useraccount service 180 as well as credentials such as a password, biometricinformation, a one-time password (OTP), etc. to user account service180. User account service 180 may use the credentials to authenticatethe application to a particular user account. Once the application isauthenticated, user account service 180 may provide a session token tothe application. This session token may be used to identify theparticular user account that the application is logged into as well as arole or roles of the user account, devices that the user account haspermission to access (e.g., devices owned by the holder of the useraccount), and so on. The application may then provide the session totoken to other WAN accessible services 130 (e.g., device service 175and/or registration service 185) to show that the application isassociated with a particular user account. Each of the WAN accessibleservices 130 recognize the user account, and will permit access toparticular resources (e.g., to particular devices) based on the useraccount associated with the session token.

Computing device 105 may be a portable device such as an electronic bookreader, portable digital assistant, mobile phone, laptop computer,portable media player, tablet computer, camera, video camera, netbook,notebook, and the like. Computing device 105 may also be a traditionallystationary device such as a desktop computer, gaming console, digitalvideo disc (DVD) player, media center, and the like. Computing device105 may connect to the WAN 170 and/or to the LAN 165.

Computing device 105 may include a remote control application (ormultiple remote control applications) 115 that can receive informationfor devices 135A-C and control the devices 135A-C. The remote controlapplication 115A-C is configured to interface with and/or control one ormore of the devices 135A-C via the devices' embedded systems 150A-C. Theremote control application 105 may be programmed to run on variousoperating systems, such as Windows® operating systems, Unix® operatingsystems, iOS® operating systems, Android® operating systems and Java®operating systems to name a few. The remote control application 105 mayalso be configured as firmware, or as hardware, or as some combinationof software, firmware and/or hardware. The remote control application105 may include a graphical user interface (GUI) that enables users tointeract with and control devices 135A-C in an intuitive anduser-friendly manner. A user may interact with the GUI to cause theremote control application to generate notifications, commands, propertyupdates and other messages for the devices represented in the GUI.

In one embodiment, the computing device 105 includes separate remotecontrol applications for each of the embedded systems 150A-C.Alternatively, the computing device 105 may include a single remotecontrol application that is capable of communicating with andcontrolling embedded systems 150A-C for multiple different devices135A-C.

While computing device 105 is connected to WAN 170 or directly to a LAN165, remote control application 115 may establish a session with theuser account service 180. Via this session, the remote controlapplication 115 may interface with device service 175 and registrationservice 185. The device service 175 may provide an interface forindirectly controlling and monitoring one or more of the devices 135A-C.If a user desires to change a state of a device, the user may issue acommand via the remote control application 115, and that command may besent to the device service 175. The device service 175 may then forwardthe command on to the appropriate embedded system. Additionally, whenthe device service 175 receives updated state information for a devicefrom an embedded system, the device service 175 may forward the stateinformation on to the remote control application 115. This may enableusers to connect to and control the devices 135A-C from anywhere theyhave access to the Internet.

A user account may gain access to a device 135A-C by registering thatdevice to the user account or by another user account sharing access tothe device 135A-C. Registration of the device causes the device to bebound to a particular user account.

Registration service 185 is responsible for coordinating with devices135A-C and remote control applications 115 to register devices 135A-C toa user account. Registration service 185 supports a large number ofregistration techniques that may be performed to register a device. Eachremote control application 115 may support one or more registrationtechniques. Additionally, each of the devices 135A-C may support one ormore registration techniques, which may differ from device to device.The registration techniques supported by application 115 may bedifferent than the registration techniques supported by devices 135A-C.In order for a device to successfully be registered to a user account,there should be overlap of at least one registration technique that issupported by both the remote control application 115 and the device135A-C. Registration service 185 may identify and select a registrationservice that is supported by both the remote control application 115 anda device 135A-C, and then instruct the remote control application 115and device 135A-C to use the selected registration technique.Alternatively, if the remote control application 115 supports only asingle registration technique that is the same as a single registrationtechnique supported by the device, then the device and remote controlapplication may automatically apply that single registration technique.

One or both of the remote control application 115 and device 135A-C maythen generate or collect appropriate registration information andprovide the registration information to the registration service 185.The registration service 185 determines whether the receivedregistration information satisfies one or more criteria of the selectedregistration technique, and if so binds the device 135A-C to the useraccount associated with the remote control application 115. Once thedevice is registered to the user account, the remote control application115 can begin controlling the device 135A-C.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a flexible registration framework 200, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Theregistration framework 200 includes a registration service 202, a remotecontrol application 250 and an unregistered device 270. The registrationservice 202, remote control application 250 and unregistered device 270may coordinate to register the unregistered device 270.

Registration service 202 manages the registration and deregistration ofdevices such as embedded systems to user accounts. In one embodiment,registration service 202 corresponds to registration service 185 ofFIG. 1. Registration service 202 may include a device interface 204, anapplication interface 208, a registration technique selector 206, adevice updater 212, a device binder 214, and/or an application updater218. Alternatively, the functionality of one or more of the deviceinterface 204, application interface 208, registration techniqueselector 206, device updater 212, device binder 214, and/or applicationupdater 218 may be combined into a single module or divided intomultiple sub-modules.

Device interface 204 is responsible for connecting to and communicatingwith embedded systems and/or other devices (e.g., unregistered device270). Device interface 204 may connect to embedded systems or otherdevices whether or not those devices have been registered to any useraccounts. Device interface 204 may receive data from embedded systems(or other devices) such as location information, addressing information(e.g., internet protocol (IP) addresses), device identifiers (IDs),registration information, and so forth. Device interface 204 mayadditionally send information to devices such as device updates (e.g.,firmware updates), commands to use particular registration techniques,registration confirmation, and so on.

Application interface 208 is responsible for connecting to remotecontrol applications (e.g., remote control application 250). Applicationinterface 208 may receive a session token from a remote controlapplication, and may query a user account service to determine a useraccount associated with the session token. The user account service mayalso identify devices registered to the user account. Applicationinterface 275 may provide the remote control application withinstructions to use particular registration techniques for registrationof a device, with application updates, and with other information.Application interface 208 may additionally receive applicationinformation, addressing information, registration information, and/orother information from remote control applications.

Remote control application 205 is an application that interfaces withand/or controls one or more devices (e.g., one or more devices havingembedded systems). Remote control application 205 may be a program orlibrary that is executed by a processing device (e.g., by a processor ofcomputing device 105 of FIG. 1). The remote control application 205 maybe programmed to run on various operating systems, such as Windows®operating systems, Unix® operating systems, iOS® operating systems,Android® operating systems and Java® operating systems to name a few.The remote control application 205 may also be configured as firmware,or as hardware, or as some combination of software, firmware and/orhardware. In one embodiment, the remote control application 205 includesa graphical user interface (GUI) 254, a registration techniqueimplementer 252, a service communicator 256, and a device communicator258. In other embodiments, the functionality of some or all of the GUI254, registration technique identifier 252, service communicator 256,and/or device communicator 258 may be combined into a single module ordivided into additional modules. The remote control application 205 mayalso include a session token 260, network credentials 262 and/or dataidentifying supported registration techniques 264.

Graphical user interface (GUI) 254 enables users to interact with andcontrol devices in an intuitive and user-friendly manner. GUI 254 mayprovide a collection of graphical icons, visual indicators, buttons,toggles, sliders, and so forth that represent states and values ofdifferent parameters for the devices as well as controls for changingthose states and values. A user may interact with the GUI 254 to causethe remote control application to generate notifications, commands,property updates and other messages for the devices represented in theGUI. A user may additionally interact with GUI 254 to perform one ormore operations associated with device registration.

Device interface 256 is responsible for connecting to and communicatingwith embedded systems and/or other devices (e.g., unregistered device270). Device interface 256 may establish limited connections to embeddedsystems or other devices while those devices are unregistered. Via thelimited connection, device interface 256 may provide the unregistereddevice 270 with network credentials 262 to enable the unregistereddevice 270 to connect to a network (e.g., to a LAN). Device interface256 may additionally receive registration information from theunregistered device 270 and/or send registration information to theunregistered device 270 via the limited connection.

Service interface 256 is responsible for connecting to registrationservice 202, a device service and/or other WAN accessible services of anIoT platform. Service interface 256 may send a session token to theregistration service 202 to authenticate the remote control application250 to a particular user account. Service interface 256 may receiveinstructions to use particular registration techniques for registrationof a device, receive application updates, and/or receive otherinformation from the registration service 202. Service interface 256 mayadditionally send to registration service 202 application information,addressing information, registration information, and/or otherinformation.

Unregistered device 270 is a device that has not yet been registered toany user account. Unregistered device 270 may be a device having anembedded system, or may be any other computing device that is to connectto an IoT platform. In one embodiment, unregistered device 270corresponds to a device 135A-C or embedded system 150A-C of FIG. 1.Unregistered device 270 may include a service interface 276, anapplication interface 280 and/or a registration technique implementer274. Alternatively, the functionality of one or more of the serviceinterface 276, application interface 280 and/or registration techniqueimplementer 274 may be combined into a single module or divided intomultiple sub-modules.

Service interface 276 is responsible for connecting to registrationservice 202, a device service and/or other WAN accessible services of aIoT platform. Service interface 276 may receive instructions to useparticular registration techniques for registration of the unregistereddevice 270, receive device updates, and/or receive other informationfrom the registration service 202. Service interface 276 mayadditionally send to registration service 202 device information,addressing information, registration information, and/or otherinformation.

Application interface 280 is responsible for connecting to remotecontrol applications (e.g., remote control application 250). Applicationinterface 280 may provide the remote control application withregistration information. Application interface 280 may additionallyreceive application information, addressing information, registrationinformation, and/or other information from remote control applications.

When a device (e.g., unregistered device 270) is purchased by an enduser, that device may initially not be registered to any user accounts.The end user may desire to register the device to his user account togain access to and control over that device. For example, a user maypurchase and install an Internet enabled oven, dishwasher, dryer orwasher. By registering the Internet enabled device to a user accountthat the remote control application 250 is logged into, the remotecontrol application 250 gains the ability to monitor and/or control thatdevice. In one embodiment, the remote control application 250 may begranted one of multiple different permission levels through theregistration process. A first permission level may permit monitoring ofa device, but not permit any control of the device. A second permissionlevel may permit control of some (e.g., a subset of all) devicefunctions or settings, and a third permission level may permit controlof all device functions and settings, as an example.

To register the device 270, the end user first downloads and installsthe remote control application 250 on a different computing device(e.g., on a mobile device). Alternatively, the user may already haveremote control application 250 installed on his or her computing device.Via the remote control application 250, the end user logs into a useraccount service (e.g., user account service 180) and receives a sessiontoken 260 that binds the remote control application 250 to the useraccount for the duration of a session. The user may generate a new useraccount if the end user does not already have a user account.

Once the remote control application 250 is logged into the user accountof the end user, the remote control application provides the sessiontoken 260 to registration service 202, and may request registration of anew device (e.g., of unregistered device 270). In one embodiment, theremote control application 250 automatically detects unregistered device270 and sends a registration request to the registration service 202.The registration request may include information about the detecteddevice, such as an internet protocol (IP) address, a media accesscontrol (MAC) address, a serial number, identifying information of a LANthat the device is connected to, location information, or otherinformation that can be used to uniquely identify the device.Alternatively, a user may request registration of a new device via GUI254, which may cause a registration request to be sent to registrationservice 202. The user may input a type of device to be registered, aserial number of the device, or other information that identifies thedevice.

Instead of, or in addition to, remote control application 250 generatinga registration request, unregistered device 270 may generate aregistration request and send the registration request to registrationservice 202. In one embodiment, unregistered device 270 generates aregistration request responsive to detecting remote control application250. Unregistered device 270 may receive information about the remotecontrol application (e.g., an IP address associated with remote controlapplication 250, a MAC address associated with remote controlapplication 250, session token 260, etc.) that may be used to identifyremote control application 250, and may include such information in theregistration request.

Responsive to registration service 202 receiving a registration request,registration technique selector 206 determines a registration techniqueto be used to register the unregistered device 270. Registration service202 has multiple supported registration techniques 220. Similarly,unregistered device 270 has one or more supported registrationtechniques 278 and remote control application 250 has one or moresupported registration techniques 264. Registration service 202 supportsall registration techniques that are supported by any of the devices andremote control applications. Unregistered device 270 is likely tosupport just one or a few registration techniques. Remote controlapplication 250 may support all of the same registration techniquessupported by registration service 202, or may support a subset of suchregistration techniques.

To select a registration technique, registration technique selector 206determines the supported registration techniques 264 of the remotecontrol application 250 and the supported registration techniques 278 ofthe unregistered device 270. Registration technique selector 206 thendetermines if there is any overlap between supported registrationtechniques 264 and supported registration techniques 278.

Registration technique selector 206 may apply one or more registrationtechnique selection rules 222 to select a registration technique. In oneembodiment, a simple registration technique selection rule is appliedthat selects a registration technique based on overlapping registrationtechniques. If a single overlapping registration technique isidentified, registration technique selector 206 may select theoverlapping registration technique and notify the remote controlapplication 250 and/or the unregistered device 270 of the registrationtechnique to use. If multiple overlapping registration techniques areidentified, then registration technique selector 206 may determine whichof the overlapping registration techniques to select. A registrationtechnique selection rule 222 may indicate that a registration selectiontechnique with a highest security level is to be applied. Alternatively,a registration selection technique selection rule 222 may indicate thatone of the overlapping registration techniques is to be selected basedon one or more other criteria. For example, a registration techniqueselection rule 222 may indicate that a particular registration techniqueis to be selected based on a location of the unregistered device 270, orbased on a role of the user account that the remote control application250 is logged into.

In one example, a registration technique selection rule 222 indicatesthat a registration technique is to be selected based on a location ofthe unregistered device 270. For example, an OEM may specify that afirst registration technique is to be used for devices in Europe, asecond registration technique is to be used for devices in China, and athird registration technique is to be used for devices in the UnitedStates. Registration technique selector 206 may determine a location ofthe unregistered device 270 based on an IP address of the unregistereddevice, based on cell tower triangulation, based on Wi-Fi access pointtriangulation, or based on global positioning system (GPS) coordinatesreceived from the unregistered device, for example. Registrationtechnique selector 206 may then select the registration techniquedesignated for the determined location.

In another example, a registration technique selection rule 222indicates that a registration technique is to be selected based on arole of the user account that the remote control application 250 islogged into. User accounts may be associated with one or more roles.Each role is associated with a type of user, and provides a set ofpermissions or privileges with regards to one or more devices. Examplesof roles include an end user role, an OEM administrator role, an OEMaccount manager role, a technician role, a dealer role, and so on.Accordingly, a first registration technique may be used if a dealer isinstalling the unregistered device 270 in a customer's home, and asecond registration technique may be applied if the customer isinstalling the unregistered device 270 herself. Many other registrationtechnique selection rules may also be applied.

Once a registration technique is selected, device interface 204 maynotify unregistered device 270 of the registration technique to be used.Additionally, or alternatively, application interface 208 may notifyremote control application 250 of the registration technique to be used.

Each of the remote control application 250 and unregistered device 270may include a registration technique implementer 252, 274 thatimplements a selected registration technique for device registration.The registration technique implementer 274 and registration techniqueimplementer 252 each perform one or more registration operationsassociated with device registration. The specific registrationoperations that are performed depend on the specific registrationtechnique that was selected. Examples of operations that may beperformed by registration technique implementer 252 include receivingregistration information from unregistered device 270, prompting a userto input registration information, generating registration information,sending registration information to unregistered device 270, and sendingregistration information and/or other information to registrationservice 202. Examples of registration operations that may be performedby unregistered device 270 include receiving registration informationfrom remote control application 250, generating registrationinformation, sending registration information to remote controlapplication 250, and sending registration information and/or otherinformation to registration service 202.

Registration service 202 receives registration information from one orboth of remote control application 250 and unregistered device 270.Device binder 214 then determines whether the received registrationinformation satisfies one or more registration criteria of the selectedregistration technique. The registration criteria may differ fromregistration technique to registration technique. If the registrationcriteria of the registration technique are satisfied, device binder 214binds the unregistered device to the user account that the remotecontrol application 250 is logged into. Device binder 214 mayadditionally send a notification of successful device registration tothe remote control application 250 and/or unregistered device 270.Remote control application 250 may then gain access to unregistereddevice 270 (which is now registered).

As mentioned, the remote control application 250 and unregistered device270 may perform different registration operations depending on aselected registration technique. Additionally, the types of registrationinformation that is gathered may differ between registration techniquesand the registration criteria may differ for different registrationtechniques. A few examples of registration techniques are providedherein below. Many other registration techniques may also be used inembodiments.

In a first example registration technique, the remote controlapplication 250 causes a screen of a mobile device that the remotecontrol application is running on to pulsate. The duration of pulses andspacing between pulses may provide a code. The unregistered device 270includes a detector (e.g., a light sensor) that detects the pulses. Theunregistered device 270 identifies the code and then forwards the codeto registration service 202. Remote control application 250 additionallysends the code to registration service 202. Registration service 202determines whether the code received from the unregistered device 270matches the code received from remote control application 250. If theymatch, then the registration criteria are satisfied and registration issuccessful.

In a second example, the unregistered device 270 includes a display(e.g., a liquid crystal (LCD) display, a light emitting diode (LED)display, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, an electronicink (e-ink) display, a plasma display panel, a cathode ray tube (CRT),etc.), and the unregistered device 270 displays a unique code via thedisplay. A user views the unique code and enters it into the remotecontrol application 250. The remote control application 250 and theunregistered device 270 both send the unique code to the registrationservice 202. Registration service 202 compares the unique code receivedfrom the remote control application 250 to the unique code received fromthe unregistered device 270. If they match, then registration issuccessful.

In a third example, a user of the remote control application receives aunique code from a web site, via a text message, via email, or viaanother means. The unique code may be sent to the remote controlapplication 250, or the user may be asked to input the unique code intothe application. The remote control application 250 may then send theunique code to the unregistered device 270 or the user may be asked toinput the unique code into the unregistered device 270 via an inputdevice of the unregistered device 270. Both the remote controlapplication 250 and the unregistered device 270 send the unique code tothe registration service 202, which compares the received codes todetermine if registration successful.

In a fourth example, remote control application 250 may connect to theunregistered device 270 directly or via a LAN. The unregistered device270 may send the unique code to the remote control application 250 viathe connection. In one embodiment, unregistered device 270 broadcaststhe unique code. In one embodiment, unregistered device 270 beginsbroadcasting the unique code responsive to a user pushing a button onthe unregistered device 270. Remote control application 250 andunregistered device 270 may send the unique code to the remote controlapplication 250. Registration service 202 compares the unique codereceived from the remote control application 250 to the unique codereceived from the unregistered device 270. If they match, thenregistration is successful.

In a fifth example, unregistered device 270 includes a bar code (e.g., atwo-dimensional bar code such as a quick response (QR) code or a 1dimensional bar code such as a universal product code (UPC)). The remotecontrol application 250 includes a bar code scanner or an image capturedevice that captures the bar code on the unregistered device 270. Theremote control application 250 may transmit the bar code to theregistration service 202. The unregistered device 270 may also transmitthe bar code to the registration service. Alternatively, theregistration service may include a data structure (e.g., a table,database, etc.) that matches bar codes to unique identifying informationof each device, such as MAC addresses, serial numbers, etc. Registrationservice 202 may compare the received bar codes to one another, or maycompare a single received bar code to the data structure to identify thedevice that is to be registered. If the bar codes match, thenregistration is successful, and registration service 202 binds theunregistered device 270 to the user account. Alternatively, if the barcode received from the remote control application 250 matches a bar codein the data structure, registration service 202 determines anunregistered device corresponding to the bar code and binds thatunregistered device to the user account.

In a sixth example, remote control application 250 and unregistereddevice 270 are on the same LAN, and remote control application 250detects the unregistered device 270 on the LAN (e.g., via the san listof the Wi-Fi devices connected to the LAN). Remote control application250 sends information identifying the unregistered device and addressinformation showing that the unregistered device and the remote controlapplication are on the same LAN to the registration service 202.Registration service 202 may then register the device to the useraccount associated with the remote control application. In a variationof the sixth example, the unregistered device 270 additionally sends atoken (e.g., a unique code) to remote control application 250, which theunregistered device 270 may also transmit to the registration service202 (or which the registration service 202 may look up in a datastructure). Registration service 202 may apply a registration techniquehaving a first criterion that the remote control application 250 be on asame LAN as the unregistered device 270 and a second criterion that atoken received from the unregistered device 270 match a token receivedfrom the remote control application 250. Responsive to both criteriabeing satisfied, registration service 202 may bind the unregistereddevice 270 to a user account.

The binding of the unregistered device 270 to the user account may berecorded by the registration service 202. The binding information may besaved as an entry in the user account, for example. In one embodiment,the information identifying the user account to which the device isbound (and any information identifying the owner of the device,individuals who have access to the device, etc.) is stored in a serverdata store (e.g., in the cloud) and not in the device 270. Suchinformation may also not be stored in the remote control application 250in embodiments. Accordingly, even upon the loss or compromise of thedevice 270 or a mobile device that includes the remote controlapplication 250, no customer identifiable information is compromised(e.g., no customer information can be obtained from the device 270).

Embodiments herein describe a registration service as making aregistration decision (determining whether or not registrationinformation satisfies the criteria of a registration technique).However, it should be understood that in alternative embodiments theunregistered device 270 and/or remote control application 250 may makethe registration decision. For example, unregistered device 270 mayprovide registration information to remote control application 250, andremote control application 250 may then determine whether the receivedregistration information (potentially in combination with additionalregistration information that may be received from registration service202, received from a user or generated by remote control application250) satisfies criteria of the selected registration technique. Remotecontrol application 250 may then notify the registration service thatregistration is or is not successful, responsive to which device binder214 may bind the device to the user account if appropriate. Similarly,remote control application 250 may send registration information tounregistered device 270, and the unregistered device may use suchregistration information to make a registration decision. Unregistereddevice 270 may then notify the registration service 202 of theregistration decision.

Moreover, embodiments herein describe a registration service determininga registration technique to be applied by a remote control application250 and an unregistered device 270. However, in alternative embodimentsthe remote control application 250 and/or unregistered device 270 maydetermine which registration technique to apply. For example, remotecontrol application 250 may include a registration technique selectionrule, and may apply the registration technique selection rule todetermine which registration technique to use. Similarly, unregistereddevice 270 may include and apply a registration technique selection ruleto select a registration technique.

New registration techniques may be added to the supported registrationtechniques 220 at any time without making any changes to the existingcode of the registration service 202. Moreover, registration techniquesto be used for registering of devices may be changed without making anyupdates to software or firmware of those devices. In one embodiment, aregistration technique to be used by a device may be changed simply bysending an instruction to that device and/or to a remote controlapplication that will interface with that device. This enablesregistration techniques to be easily changed on-the-fly, even fordevices that have already been sold and deployed to customer locations.In one embodiment, registration service 220 is managed as a plugin orextension.

Additional registration techniques may also be added to remote controlapplication 250 and/or unregistered device 270 at any time. Someregistration technique selection rules may select a registrationtechnique to be used even if that registration technique is notsupported by one or both of the remote control application 250 and/orunregistered device 270. If a registration technique is selected that isnot supported by remote control application 250, application updater 218updates remote control application 250 to cause remote controlapplication 250 to support that registration technique. Applicationupdater 218 may download an update that includes the selectedregistration technique to remote control application 250, and remotecontrol application 250 may be updated based on the update. Similarly,if a registration selection technique is selected that is not supportedby unregistered device 270, device updater 212 may download a firmwareupdate to unregistered device 270 that will cause unregistered device270 to support the selected registration technique. Unregistered device270 may then execute the update to support the selected registrationtechnique.

The registration framework 200 has been described with reference toregistering an unregistered device 270. However, it should be understoodthat in some embodiments the device to be registered may be a registereddevice. In such embodiments, the described operations may be performedto re-register the device. Re-registration is registration of an alreadyregistered device to a new user account. Some registration techniquessupport re-registration, while other registration techniques do notsupport re-registration. If a selected registration technique does notsupport re-registration, then an owner may deregister themselves from adevice to enable registration of the device to a new user account. Ifdevice binder 214 determines that the selected registration techniquedoes support re-registration, then reregistration may be performedwithout deregistering the device. In one embodiment re-registrationcauses the device to no longer be bound to a user account that thedevice was originally bound to before re-registration was performed. Inanother embodiment, re-registration causes the device to be bound to thenew user account without affecting the binding to the original useraccount.

FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram 300 of an example registration process, inaccordance with one embodiment. At block 320 a remote controlapplication 305 detects an unregistered device 310. Remote controlapplication 305 then sends a registration request 325 to a registrationservice 315.

At block 335, the registration service 315 determines a registrationtechnique to be used for registering the unregistered device 310.Registration service 335 may then notify 340, 345 the unregistereddevice 310 and/or the remote control application 305 of the determinedregistration technique. In an alternative embodiment, registrationservice 315 may not notify remote control application 305 orunregistered device 310 of the registration technique to be used. Forexample, if the remote control application 305 and unregistered device310 include only a single registration technique (that matches), or ifremote control application 305 and unregistered application 310 have thesame default registration technique, then the registration techniquenotification may be omitted.

Remote control application 305 transmits registration information 350(e.g., a unique code or token) to unregistered device 310. Unregistereddevice 310 and remote control application 305 then both transmit theregistration information 355, 360 to registration service. Registrationservice 315 compares the received registration information, and if theymatch registers the device by binding it to a user account associatedwith the remote control application 305. Registration service 315 thennotifies 365, 370 the remote control application 305 and/or theunregistered device 310 of the successful registration.

FIGS. 4A-12 are flow diagrams showing various methods of deviceregistration in an IoT platform. The methods may be performed by aprocessing logic that may comprise hardware (e.g., circuitry, dedicatedlogic, programmable logic, microcode, etc.), software (e.g.,instructions run on a processing device to perform hardware simulation),or a combination thereof. Various embodiments may be performed by aservice computing device executing a registration service (e.g., servercomputing device 125 of FIG. 1), by a remote control application runningon a computing device (e.g., remote control application 115 of FIG. 1),and/or by a network-connected (or Internet enabled) device that mayinclude an embedded system (e.g., devices 135A-C of FIG. 1).

FIG. 4A is a flow chart of one embodiment for a method 400 ofdetermining a registration technique to be used for a device. In oneembodiment, method 400 is performed by a server computing deviceexecuting a registration service. At block 405 of method 400, processinglogic receives first information identifying an application running on afirst device. At block 410, processing logic receives second informationidentifying a second device (e.g., an unregistered device). The firstinformation and second information may be separately received from thefirst device and the second device, or may both be received from one ofthe first device or the second device. The first information may includea device type of the device on which the application is running, aversion number of the application, a MAC address of the first device, anIP address of the first device, and so on. The second information mayinclude an IP address of the second device, a serial number of thesecond device, a MAC address of the second device, a device type of thesecond device, and so on.

At block 415, processing logic determines one or more registrationtechniques that are supported by the application based on the receivedfirst information. At block 420, processing logic determines one or moreregistration techniques supported by the second device based on thesecond information.

At block 425, processing logic determines registration techniques thatare supported by both the application and by the second device(overlapping registration techniques). If there is just one overlappingregistration technique, the method continues to block 440. At block 440,processing logic sends a message to the first device and/or the seconddevice indicating the registration technique to use. For example, if theapplication supports two registration techniques and the second devicesupports a single registration technique, then the application may benotified of the registration technique supported by the second device.In another example, if the application supports registration techniquesA and B, and the second device supports registration techniques B and C,then processing logic may notify the application and the second devicethat registration technique B is to be used. In one embodiment, if theapplication and the second device both support only a singleregistration technique, which is the same, then the operations of block440 may be skipped.

If at block 425 the application and the second device have more than oneoverlapping registration technique, the method continues to block 430.At block 430, processing logic applies a registration techniqueselection rule to select one of the registration techniques supported byboth the application and the second device. The registration techniqueselection rule may select a registration technique based on a securitylevel associated with the technique, based on a role of a user accountthat the application is associated with, based on a location of thesecond device, and/or based on other criteria. For example, eachregistration technique may have a security rating, and processing logicmay select a registration technique having a highest security rating.The method continues to block 440, and processing logic notifies one orboth of the application and the second device of the selectedregistration technique.

If at block 425 there were no overlapping supported registrationtechniques between the application and the second device, then themethod proceeds to block 435, and an error message is sent.Alternatively, processing logic may update one or both of theapplication and the second device to cause them to support an additionalregistration technique. At this point the method would return to block425.

FIG. 4B is a flow chart of another embodiment for a method 442 ofdetermining a registration technique to be used for a device. In oneembodiment, method 442 is performed by a server computing deviceexecuting a registration service. At block 445 of method 400, processinglogic receives information identifying an application running on a firstdevice and information identifying a second device. At block 448,processing logic determines one or more registration techniques that aresupported by the application and by the second device based on thereceived information.

At block 450, processing logic applies one or more registrationtechnique selection rules to select a registration technique. A simpleregistration technique selection rule may select a registrationtechnique that is shared by the application and the second device. Otherregistration technique selection rules may select a registrationtechnique based on location of the first and/or second device, based ona role associated with the application, based on security level, and/orbased on other criteria. The supported registration techniques of theapplication and/or the second device may or may not be taken intoconsideration when selecting the registration technique.

At block 455, processing logic determines whether the selectedregistration technique is supported by both the application and thesecond device. If either the application or the second device fail tosupport the selected registration technique, the method continues toblock 460. If the selected registration technique is supported by boththe application and the second device, the method proceeds to block 465.

At block 460, the application and/or the second device are updated tocause them to support the selected registration technique. This mayinclude downloading a firmware and/or software update to one or both ofthe first device and the second device, and causing the first deviceand/or second device to install the update. At block 465, processinglogic notifies one or both of the application and the second device ofthe selected registration technique to be used. In one embodiment, nonotification message is sent to a device that was updated at block 460,as the update itself may include an instruction to apply theregistration technique.

FIG. 5A is a flow chart of one embodiment for a method 500 of binding adevice to a user account based on an applied registration technique. Inone embodiment, method 500 is performed by a server computing deviceexecuting a registration service. At block 505 of method 500, processinglogic receives registration data from a remote control applicationrunning on a first device. At block 510, processing logic receivesregistration data from a second device. Alternatively, processing logicmay receive registration data from just the remote control applicationor just from the second device.

At block 515, processing logic determines whether the first registrationdata and the second registration data satisfy one or more criteria of aregistration technique that is to be used. In one embodiment, processinglogic determines whether the first registration data includes a uniquecode or token that matches a unique code or token in the secondregistration data. In other embodiments, processing logic mayadditionally or alternatively determine whether a location of the firstdevice and/or second device satisfy a location criterion, whether thefirst device and second device are on the same LAN, whether a role of auser account associated with the remote control application hasregistration permissions, and/or may apply other criteria. If thereceived registration data satisfies the one or more criteria, thenregistration is successful and the method continues to block 520.Otherwise, registration fails and the method ends.

At block 520, processing logic may verify the user account associatedwith the application (e.g., by checking a session token received fromthe application). At block 525, processing logic binds the second deviceto the verified user account. At block 530, processing logic notifiesthe remote control application and/or the second device of thesuccessful registration. At block 535, processing logic may then provideinformation on the second device to the remote control application. Theremote control application would then be able to monitor and control thesecond device remotely via a device service.

FIG. 5B is a flow chart of one embodiment for a method 550 of bindingmultiple devices to different user accounts based on different appliedregistration techniques. In one embodiment, method 550 is performed by aserver computing device executing a registration service. At block 555of method 500, processing logic receives first registration data from afirst remote control application running on a first device. Processinglogic may additionally receive registration data from a second devicethat is to be registered.

At block 560, processing logic determines whether the first registrationdata satisfies one or more criteria of a first registration techniquethat is to be used. If the received registration data satisfies the oneor more criteria, then registration is successful and the methodcontinues to block 565 at which processing logic binds the second deviceto a first user account associated with the first remote controlapplication. Otherwise, registration fails and the method proceeds toblock 570.

At block 570, processing logic receives second registration data from asecond remote control application running on a second device. Processinglogic may additionally receive registration data from a fourth devicethat is to be registered. At block 575, processing logic determineswhether the second registration data satisfies one or more criteria of asecond registration technique that is to be used. If the receivedregistration data satisfies the one or more criteria, then registrationis successful and the method continues to block 580 at which processinglogic binds the fourth device to a second user account associated withthe second remote control application. Otherwise, registration fails andthe method ends.

Though method 550 is described with reference to registering two devicesusing two different registration techniques, many different devices maybe registered using the same or different registration techniques.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of one embodiment for a method 600 of dynamicallycontrolling the registration technique to be implemented by an embeddedsystem. In one embodiment, method 600 is performed by a server computingdevice executing a registration service. At block 605 of method 600,processing logic receives data from an embedded system. The receiveddata may include a unique identifier of the embedded system (e.g., aserial number, MAC address, etc.), an address of the embedded system(e.g., an IP address and/or port number) and/or a device type of theembedded system. At block 610, processing logic determines aregistration technique to be implemented by the embedded system. Theregistration technique may have been selected by an OEM thatmanufactured a device that includes the embedded system.

At block 615, processing logic determines whether the embedded systemsupports the registration technique. If the embedded system supports theregistration technique, the method continues to block 625. Otherwise,the method proceeds to block 620, at which processing logic sends anupdate to the embedded system to cause the embedded system to supportthe determined registration technique. At block 625, processing logicnotifies the embedded system to implement the registration technique.Depending on the registration technique, implementing the registrationtechnique may include waiting for registration information from anapplication and forwarding such registration information to aregistration service, sending registration information to anapplication, broadcasting registration information, displayingregistration information on a screen, and/or performing otheroperations.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of one embodiment for a method 700 of updatingthe registration technique to be applied by devices of a particulardevice type. In one embodiment, method 700 is performed by a servercomputing device executing a registration service. At block 705 ofmethod 700, processing logic receives an instruction to use a specifiedregistration technique for devices of a particular device type. Theinstruction may be received from an OEM that manufactures the devices.

At block 710, processing logic identifies devices of the particulardevice type. At block 715, processing logic determines whether thedevices support the specified registration technique. If all of thedevices support the determined registration technique, the methodcontinues to block 725. If there are devices that do not support theselected registration technique, the method continues to block 720.

At block 720, processing logic updates those identified devices that donot support the registration technique to cause those devices to supportthe registration technique. This may include automatically updatingdevices after they are sold to a user the first time they are activatedin a user's home. In some instances the OEM may not desire to updatedevices that are in the field (devices that have already been deployedto customer locations). In such an instance, processing logic would onlyupdate those devices that have not yet been deployed (e.g., that havenot yet been sold to end users).

At block 725, processing logic notifies the devices to use the specifiedregistration technique.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of one embodiment for a method 800 of performingoperations associated with a registration technique by an application.The application may be a remote control application for embeddedsystems, and may execute on computing device (e.g., a mobile computingdevice or traditionally stationary computing device). At block 805 ofmethod 800, processing logic logs into a user account. At block 810,processing logic detects a device (e.g., an unregistered device) andreceives information from the device. The information may identify adevice type of the device and/or may include unique identifyinginformation of the device.

At block 815, processing logic identifies a registration techniquesupported by the device. Identifying the registration techniquesupported by the device may include comparing the unique identifyinginformation and/or device type to a data structure that associatesdevice types with supported registration techniques. Alternatively,identifying the registration technique supported by the device mayinclude sending the received information to a registration service andreceiving a notification of a registration technique that should be usedto register the device.

At block 820, processing logic determines what registration informationis to be used and/or what registration operations are to be performedfor the registration technique. Three different types of registrationinformation/operations are discussed, though other options are alsopossible.

If option A is selected, at block 825 processing logic receivesregistration information from a user and/or determines registrationinformation. Processing logic may also receive the registrationinformation from another source (e.g., from a web page). At block 830,processing logic then sends the registration information to the deviceand to a registration service. The device then also forwards theregistration information to the registration service.

If option B is selected, at block 835 processing logic receivesregistration information from the user and/or determines registrationinformation. Processing logic may also receive the registrationinformation from another source. Processing logic then sends theregistration information to the device at block 840. The device wouldthen forward the registration information on to the registration service(potentially along with additional registration information determinedby the device).

If option C is selected, at block 845 processing logic receivesregistration information from the device, from a user and/or fromanother source. At block 850, processing logic sends the registration tothe registration service. The device may also send registrationinformation to the registration service.

If at block 855 the sent registration information satisfied registrationcriteria of the registration technique, the method continues to block860. At block 860, processing logic receives a message from theregistration service indicating that the registration informationsatisfied the registration criteria of the registration technique andthat the device is bound to the user account. At block 865, processinglogic may then begin remotely controlling the device.

If at block 855 the registration information failed to satisfy theregistration criteria of the registration technique, then the methodends without the device being registered.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of another embodiment for a method 900 ofperforming operations associated with a registration technique by anapplication. The application may execute on a computing device (e.g., ona mobile computing device or traditionally stationary computing device).Method 900 may be performed by a computing device executing theapplication. At block 902 of method 900, processing logic detects anunregistered device. At block 905, processing logic establishes awireless connection directly to the unregistered device. In oneembodiment, processing logic establishes a Bluetooth connection with thedevice. Alternatively, processing logic may establish a Zigbeeconnection, a Z-wave connection, a wireless universal serial bus (USB)connection, or another wireless connection. In one embodiment, theunregistered device provides a wireless access point using Wi-Fi.Processing logic may connect to the device by joining the wirelessaccess point provided by the unregistered device.

At block 910, processing logic provides to the unregistered devicenetwork credentials for a LAN that the computing device is connected to.The network credentials may include a password for joining the LAN. Thenetwork credentials are provided to the unregistered device using thewireless connection with the unregistered device. The unregistereddevice may use the network credentials to connect to the LAN (e.g., aLAN that includes a wireless access point). Once the unregistered deviceis connected to the LAN, the unregistered device may establish aconnection to one or more WAN accessible services (e.g., to aregistration service and/or to a device service).

At block 915, processing logic identifies a registration techniquesupported by the device (e.g., by querying a registration service). Atblock 920, processing logic determines whether the application supportsthe identified registration technique. If the application supports theidentified registration technique, the method continues to block 940. Ifthe application fails to support the identified registration technique,then at block 925 processing logic may notify the registration serviceof the lack of support. At block 930, processing logic may then receivean application update that will cause the application to support theregistration technique. Alternatively, the registration service mayautomatically determine that the application does not support theregistration technique and may automatically download the applicationupdate to the computing device. In such an embodiment the operations ofblock 925 may be skipped.

At block 935, processing logic updates the application to cause theapplication to support the registration technique. At block 940,processing logic performs one or more operations associated with theregistration technique to bind the unregistered device to a particularuser account. The method then ends.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of yet another embodiment for a method 1000 ofperforming operations associated with a registration technique by anapplication. Method 1000 may be performed by a computing deviceexecuting the application. At block 1005 of method 1000, processinglogic logs into a user account of a user account service. This mayinclude providing a username and password and/or other logincredentials. At block 1010, processing logic detects an unregistereddevice and receives information from the device. At block 1015,processing logic determines a registration technique supported by theunregistered device. This determination may be made based on thereceived data.

At block 1020, processing logic collects data associated with theregistration technique. Processing logic may prompt a user to inputregistration information (e.g., to type in a code). Alternatively, oradditionally, processing logic may receive registration information suchas a unique token from the unregistered device. Alternatively, oradditionally, processing logic may receive an identification of a website that processing logic may navigate to. The web site may provideprocessing logic with registration information. Registration informationmay also be received from other sources.

At block 1025, processing logic determines whether the collectedregistration information satisfies a registration criterion of theregistration technique. If the registration information satisfies theregistration criterion, the method continues to lock 1030. Otherwise themethod ends without the unregistered device being registered.

At block 1030, processing logic notifies a registration service that thecriterion of the registration criterion has been satisfied. Theregistration service may then bind the unregistered device to the useraccount. At block 1035, processing logic receives a message from theregistration service indicating that the device is bound to the useraccount. At block 1040, processing logic may then begin remotelycontrolling the device.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart of one embodiment for a method 1100 ofperforming operations associated with a registration technique by anembedded system or other device. At block 1105 of method 1100,processing logic establishes a direct connection to a remote devicerunning a remote control application. At block 1110, processing logicreceives network credentials for a LAN from the remote device. At block1115, processing logic terminates the connection to the remote deviceand connects to the LAN using the received network credentials.

At block 1120, processing logic establishes a connection to aregistration service via the LAN. Processing logic may provide data tothe registration service that the registration service may use toidentify the embedded system or other device that includes theprocessing logic. For example, processing logic may provide a serialnumber, MAC address, or other uniquely identifying information to theregistration service.

At block 1125, processing logic receives an instruction to implement aspecified registration technique from the registration service. Prior toreceiving the instruction, the processing logic may or may not have acapability to implement the registration technique. At block 1130, ifthe processing logic does not support the registration technique thenthe method continues to block 1135. If at block 1130 the processinglogic does support the registration technique, the method proceeds toblock 1145.

At block 1135, processing logic receives an update from the registrationservice. At block 1140, processing logic executes the update. The updateupdates a firmware of the embedded system or other device to cause theembedded system or other device to support the registration technique.

At block 1145, processing logic implements the registration technique.This may include providing registration information to the registrationservice and/or a remote control application, receiving registrationinformation from the remote control application, and/or performing otheroperations.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart of another embodiment for a method 1200 ofperforming operations associated with a registration technique by anembedded system or other device. At block 1205 of method 1200,processing logic establishes a connection to a registration service viaa LAN. Alternatively, processing logic may connect to a wireless carrier(e.g., Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, etc.), and may establish theconnection to the registration service via the connection to thewireless carrier.

At block 1210, processing logic detects a device running a remotecontrol application. Processing logic may identify the device on a listof devices connected to a LAN, or may detect the device using a protocolsuch as Bluetooth, Zigbee, and so forth.

At block 1215, processing logic identifies a registration technique touse. In one embodiment, processing logic queries the registrationservice regarding capabilities of the remote control application andreceives a response identifying supported registration techniques of theremote control application. Alternatively, processing logic may querythe remote control application regarding the remote controlapplication's capabilities. Processing logic may receive a response thatindicates supported registration techniques of the remote controlapplication. Alternatively, processing logic may include a datastructure that identifies registration techniques supported by variousremote control applications. Processing logic may search the datastructure for an entry corresponding to the remote control applicationto identify supported registration techniques of the remote controlapplication.

Processing logic may then select a registration technique that issupported by both the embedded system and the remote controlapplication. In an alternative embodiment, processing logic queries theregistration service, and receives an instruction to use a particularregistration technique from the registration service.

At block 1220, processing logic determines what registration informationis to be used and/or what registration operations are to be performedfor the registration technique. Three different types of registrationinformation/operations are discussed, though other options are alsopossible.

If option A is selected, at block 1225 processing logic receivesregistration information from a user and/or determines registrationinformation. Processing logic may also receive the registrationinformation from another source (e.g., from a web page). At block 1230,processing logic then sends the registration information to the remotecontrol application and to a registration service. The remote controlapplication then also forwards the registration information to theregistration service.

If option B is selected, at block 1235 processing logic receivesregistration information from the user and/or determines registrationinformation. Processing logic may also receive the registrationinformation from another source. Processing logic then sends theregistration information to the remote control application at block1240. The remote control application would then forward the registrationinformation on to the registration service (potentially along withadditional registration information determined by the remote controlapplication).

If option C is selected, at block 1245 processing logic receivesregistration information from the remote control application, from auser and/or from another source. At block 1250, processing logic sendsthe registration to the registration service. The remote controlapplication may also send registration information to the registrationservice.

If at block 1255 the sent registration information satisfiedregistration criteria of the registration technique, the methodcontinues to block 1260. At block 1260, processing logic receives amessage from the registration service indicating that the registrationinformation satisfied the registration criteria of the registrationtechnique and that the embedded system is bound to the user account.

If at block 1255 the registration information failed to satisfy theregistration criteria of the registration technique, then the methodends without the embedded system being registered.

FIG. 13 illustrates a diagrammatic representation of a machine in theexample form of a computing device 1300 within which a set ofinstructions, for causing the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein, may be executed. In alternativeembodiments, the machine may be connected (e.g., networked) to othermachines in a Local Area Network (LAN), an intranet, an extranet, or theInternet. The machine may operate in the capacity of a server or aclient machine in a client-server network environment, or as a peermachine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. Themachine may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet computer, a set-topbox (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, aweb appliance, a server, a network router, switch or bridge, or anymachine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential orotherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further,while only a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shallalso be taken to include any collection of machines (e.g., computers)that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) ofinstructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussedherein.

The example computing device 1300 includes a processing device 1302, amain memory 1304 (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, dynamicrandom access memory (DRAM) such as synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) or RambusDRAM (RDRAM), etc.), a static memory 1306 (e.g., flash memory, staticrandom access memory (SRAM), etc.), and a secondary memory (e.g., a datastorage device 1318), which communicate with each other via a bus 1330.

Processing device 1302 represents one or more general-purpose processorssuch as a microprocessor, central processing unit, or the like. Moreparticularly, the processing device 1302 may be a complex instructionset computing (CISC) microprocessor, reduced instruction set computing(RISC) microprocessor, very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor,processor implementing other instruction sets, or processorsimplementing a combination of instruction sets. Processing device 1302may also be one or more special-purpose processing devices such as anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmablegate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), network processor,or the like. Processing device 1302 is configured to execute theprocessing logic (instructions 1322) for performing the operations andsteps discussed herein.

The computing device 1300 may further include a network interface device1308. The computing device 1300 also may include a video display unit1310 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)),an alphanumeric input device 1312 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor controldevice 1314 (e.g., a mouse), and a signal generation device 1316 (e.g.,a speaker).

The data storage device 1318 may include a machine-readable storagemedium (or more specifically a computer-readable storage medium) 1328 onwhich is stored one or more sets of instructions 1322 embodying any oneor more of the methodologies or functions described herein. Theinstructions 1322 may also reside, completely or at least partially,within the main memory 1304 and/or within the processing device 1302during execution thereof by the computer system 1300, the main memory1304 and the processing device 1302 also constituting computer-readablestorage media.

The computer-readable storage medium 1328 may also be used to store aregistration service 1395 or a remote control application 1390 (asdescribed with reference to FIG. 2), and/or a software librarycontaining methods that call an a registration service 1395 or remotecontrol application 1390. While the computer-readable storage medium1328 is shown in an example embodiment to be a single medium, the term“computer-readable storage medium” should be taken to include a singlemedium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database,and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets ofinstructions. The term “computer-readable storage medium” shall also betaken to include any medium other than a carrier wave that is capable ofstoring or encoding a set of instructions for execution by the machineand that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies described herein. The term “computer-readable storagemedium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to,solid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of an example device 1405 having a remotelyaccessible embedded system 1415. The device may include any of theaforementioned types of devices having an embedded system, and in oneembodiment corresponds to a device 135A-C of FIG. 1. In one embodiment,the device 1405 includes mechanical components 1410, electricalcomponents 1412 and an embedded system 1415. The electrical components1412 and/or mechanical components 1410 may include sensors, programmablelogic controllers (PLCs), switches, motors, valves, actuators, and soforth.

The embedded system 1415 may include a host processing device 1425, ahost memory 1430 and/or a communication module 1450 coupled to the hostprocessing device 1425. The embedded system 1415 may also includenumerous other components that are not shown herein. Examples of suchadditional components may include light emitting diodes (LEDs), a powersupply regulator, fuses, ports, a user interface, digital to analog(D/A) converters, analog to digital (A/D) converters, field programmablegate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs),and so on.

Host processing device 1425 may be a microcontroller or a digital signalprocessor (DSP) in one embodiment. Host processing device 1425 mayalternatively or additionally include a programmable logic controller(PLC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or a complex programmablelogic device (CPLD). The host processing device 1425 may be configuredto perform specific functions related to the operation and control ofthe device 1405.

Host memory 1430 may include random access memory (RAM), read onlymemory (ROM), one time programmable (OTP) ROM, Flash (e.g., NOR Flash),or other types of memory. Host memory 1430 may store an applicationprogramming interface (API) 1435 for the communication module 1450. TheAPI 1435 may enable the host processing device 1425 to send commandsand/or data to and receive commands and/or data from communicationmodule 1450.

Host memory 1430 may additionally include a device state 1440 for thedevice 1405. The device state 1440 may include a present device state,historical device state, and/or changes made to the device state over aparticular period. For example, device state 1440 in one embodimentincludes changes made to the device's state since a connection to adevice service was lost. Host memory 1430 may also include firmware forthe host processing device 1425 that configures the host processingdevice to perform one or more operations that are specific to device1405.

In some embodiments, the host memory 1430 may be integrated into thehost processing device 1425. For example, microcontrollers typicallyinclude a processor core, memory and programmable input/outputperipherals. Accordingly, if the host processing device 1425 is amicrocontroller, then host memory 1430 may be a memory of hostprocessing device 1425.

Communication module 1450 may be an integrated circuit (IC) that isconfigured to be coupled to host processing device 1425 of embeddedsystem 1415. Communication module 1450 may be provided by a third partyto a manufacturer of the device along with the API 1435, and may enablenetwork capability and remote control capability to be easily added tothe device 1405. The communication module 1450 may include its ownprocessing device 1455, a memory 1465 and/or a network adapter 1460. Theprocessing device 1455 may be a microcontroller, a DSP, a PLC, amicroprocessor or programmable logic device such as an FPGA or a CPLD.The memory may include a non-volatile memory (e.g., RAM) and/or avolatile memory (e.g., ROM, Flash, etc.). In one embodiment, memory 1465is integrated into processing device 1455.

Memory 1465 may store one or more supported registration techniques1490. Memory 1465 may also store other firmware for the processingdevice 1455, such as firmware that includes instructions for anapplication interface 1492, a service interface 1494 and/or aregistration technique implementer 1482.

Network adapter 1455 may be a wired network adapter (e.g., an Ethernetadapter) or a wireless network adapter (e.g., a Wi-Fi adapter or otherwireless local area network (WLAN) adapter). Network adapter 1460 mayalso be configured to provide connection to a network or other devicesusing Zigbee, PLC, Bluetooth, 6LowPAN, or other communication protocols.Network adapter 1460 may receive notifications and other messages from aregistration service, device service and/or remote control applications.Network adapter 1460 may additional send outgoing messages to theregistration service, device service and/or to remote controlapplications.

Service interface 1494 may be executed by processing device 1455 tooperate on messages and notifications received from a WAN accessibleservice such as the registration service or device service. Similarly,application interface 1492 may be executed by processing device 1455 tooperate on messages and notifications received from remote controlapplications. Registration technique implementer 1482 may be executed byprocessing device 1455 to perform operations associated with a supportedregistration technique 1490.

The modules, components and other features described herein (for examplein relation to FIGS. 1-2) can be implemented as discrete hardwarecomponents or integrated in the functionality of hardware componentssuch as ASICS, FPGAs, DSPs or similar devices. In addition, the modulescan be implemented as firmware or functional circuitry within hardwaredevices. Further, the modules can be implemented in any combination ofhardware devices and software components, or only in software.

Some portions of the detailed description have been presented in termsof algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bitswithin a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions andrepresentations are the means used by those skilled in the dataprocessing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their workto others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally,conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desiredresult. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physicalquantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take theform of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored,transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It hasproven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, torefer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters,terms, numbers, or the like.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar termsare to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unlessspecifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the followingdiscussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description,discussions utilizing terms such as “receiving”, “sending”,“determining”, “identifying”, “collecting”, or the like, refer to theactions and processes of a computer system, or similar electroniccomputing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented asphysical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's registersand memories into other data similarly represented as physicalquantities within the computer system memories or registers or othersuch information storage, transmission or display devices.

Embodiments of the present invention also relate to an apparatus forperforming the operations herein. This apparatus may be speciallyconstructed for the discussed purposes, or it may comprise a generalpurpose computer system selectively programmed by a computer programstored in the computer system. Such a computer program may be stored ina computer readable storage medium, such as, but not limited to, anytype of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, andmagnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random accessmemories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic disk storage media, opticalstorage media, flash memory devices, other type of machine-accessiblestorage media, or any type of media suitable for storing electronicinstructions, each coupled to a computer system bus.

It is to be understood that the above description is intended to beillustrative, and not restrictive. Many other embodiments will beapparent to those of skill in the art upon reading and understanding theabove description. Although the present invention has been describedwith reference to specific example embodiments, it will be recognizedthat the invention is not limited to the embodiments described, but canbe practiced with modification and alteration within the spirit andscope of the appended claims. Accordingly, the specification anddrawings are to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than arestrictive sense. The scope of the invention should, therefore, bedetermined with reference to the appended claims, along with the fullscope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by a processingdevice executing an application that is logged in to a user accountrecognized by a registration service, information identifying a devicethat has not been bound to any user account, wherein the applicationsupports a plurality of registration techniques; identifying, by theprocessing device, a registration technique supported by the device thatis to be used for registration of the device; performing at least one ofsending information associated with the registration technique to thedevice or receiving the information associated with the registrationtechnique; sending the information associated with the registrationtechnique to the registration service; and receiving, by the processingdevice, a message from the registration service, wherein the messageindicates that the information satisfied a criterion of the registrationtechnique and comprises a notification that the device is bound to theuser account.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: after thedevice is bound to the user account, receiving information identifying astate of the device; receiving a user input to change a setting of thedevice; and sending a command for changing the setting to a deviceservice, wherein the device service is to forward the command to thedevice.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining thatthe application fails to support the registration technique; notifyingthe registration service that the application fails to support theregistration technique; receiving an application update responsive tonotifying the registration service; and updating the application usingthe application update to cause the application to support theregistration technique.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein identifyingthe registration technique supported by the device comprises: sendinginformation identifying the device to the registration service; andreceiving instructions to use the registration technique responsive tosending the information.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein identifyingthe registration technique supported by the device comprises:determining a device type of the device; and determining theregistration technique based on the device type, wherein theregistration technique is one of the plurality of registrationtechniques supported by the application.
 6. The method of claim 5,further comprising: determining that the device supports a plurality ofregistration techniques based on the device type; and determining, fromthe plurality of registration techniques supported by the applicationand from the plurality of registration techniques supported by thedevice, that the registration technique is supported by both theapplication and the device.
 7. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: connecting to a local area network (LAN); and responsive todetecting the device, sending network credentials for the LAN to thedevice, wherein the network credentials enable the device to establish aconnection to the LAN, and through the LAN to the registration service.8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving informationidentifying an additional device that has not been bound to any useraccount; identifying an additional registration technique supported bythe additional device that is to be used for registration of theadditional device; receiving additional information associated with theadditional registration technique; providing the additional informationto the registration service; and receiving an additional message fromthe registration service, wherein the additional message indicates thatthe additional information satisfied a criterion of the additionalregistration technique and comprises a notification that the additionaldevice is bound to the user account.
 9. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: logging the application out of the user account; logging theapplication in to an additional user account; receiving informationidentifying an additional device that has not been bound to any useraccount; identifying an additional registration technique supported bythe additional device that is to be used for registration of theadditional device; receiving information associated with the additionalregistration technique; providing the information to the registrationservice; and receiving an additional message from the registrationservice, wherein the additional message indicates that the additionalinformation satisfied an additional criterion of the additionalregistration technique and comprises a notification that the additionaldevice is bound to the additional user account.
 10. The method of claim1, wherein the processing device comprises a processing device for amobile device, and wherein the device comprises an embedded system. 11.A computer readable storage medium comprising instructions for anapplication that, when executed by a processing device, cause theprocessing device to perform operations comprising: receiving, by theprocessing device, information identifying a device that has not beenbound to any user account, wherein the application supports a pluralityof registration techniques, and wherein the application is logged in toa user account recognized by a registration service; identifying, by theprocessing device, a registration technique supported by the device thatis to be used for registration of the device; performing at least one ofsending information associated with the registration technique to thedevice or receiving the information associated with the registrationtechnique; sending the information associated with the registrationtechnique to the registration service; and receiving, by the processingdevice, a message from the registration service, wherein the messageindicates that the information satisfied a criterion of the registrationtechnique and comprises a notification that the device is bound to theuser account.
 12. The computer readable storage medium of claim 11, theoperations further comprising: after the device is bound to the useraccount, receiving information identifying a state of the device;receiving a user input to change a setting of the device; and sending acommand for changing the setting to a device service, wherein the deviceservice is to forward the command to the device.
 13. The computerreadable storage medium of claim 11, the operations further comprising:determining that the application fails to support the registrationtechnique; notifying the registration service that the application failsto support the registration technique; receiving an application updateresponsive to notifying the registration service; and updating theapplication using the application update to cause the application tosupport the registration technique.
 14. The computer readable storagemedium of claim 11, wherein identifying the registration techniquesupported by the device comprises: sending information identifying thedevice to the registration service; and receiving instructions to usethe registration technique responsive to sending the information. 15.The computer readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein identifyingthe registration technique supported by the device comprises:determining a device type of the device; and determining theregistration technique based on the device type, wherein theregistration technique is one of the plurality of registrationtechniques supported by the application.
 16. The computer readablestorage medium of claim 15, the operations further comprising:determining that the device supports a plurality of registrationtechniques based on the device type; and determining, from the pluralityof registration techniques supported by the application and from theplurality of registration techniques supported by the device, that theregistration technique is supported by both the application and thedevice.
 17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 11, theoperations further comprising: connecting to a local area network (LAN);and responsive to detecting the device, sending network credentials forthe LAN to the device, wherein the network credentials enable the deviceto establish a connection to the LAN, and through the LAN to theregistration service.
 18. The computer readable storage medium of claim11, the operations further comprising: receiving information identifyingan additional device that has not been bound to any user account;identifying an additional registration technique supported by theadditional device that is to be used for registration of the additionaldevice; receiving additional information associated with the additionalregistration technique; providing the additional information to theregistration service; and receiving an additional message from theregistration service, wherein the additional message indicates that theadditional information satisfied a criterion of the additionalregistration technique and comprises a notification that the additionaldevice is bound to the user account.
 19. The computer readable storagemedium of claim 11, the operations further comprising: logging theapplication out of the user account; logging the application in to anadditional user account; receiving information identifying an additionaldevice that has not been bound to any user account; identifying anadditional registration technique supported by the additional devicethat is to be used for registration of the additional device; receivinginformation associated with the additional registration technique;providing the information to the registration service; and receiving anadditional message from the registration service, wherein the additionalmessage indicates that the additional information satisfied anadditional criterion of the additional registration technique andcomprises a notification that the additional device is bound to theadditional user account.
 20. A mobile device comprising: a wirelessmodule; a memory to store instructions for a remote control application;and a processing device, coupled to the wireless module and to thememory, to execute the instructions for the application, wherein theinstructions cause the processing device to: receive informationidentifying a device that has not been bound to any user account,wherein the application supports a plurality of registration techniques,and wherein the application is logged in to a user account recognized bya registration service; identify a registration technique supported bythe device that is to be used for registration of the device; determineinformation associated with the registration technique; send theinformation associated with the registration technique to theregistration service; and receive a message from the registrationservice, wherein the message indicates that the information satisfied acriterion of the registration technique and comprises a notificationthat the device is bound to the user account.